Forgotten Listener: Musings
by ASingleSplendidSong
Summary: Just a few drabbles I write when I have free time, even when I don't. Pairings - Various. Drabble 15 - 'Lili would listen enraptured for hours on end, listening and dreaming about such a beautiful place, where music was life itself.'
1. I'm not THAT dense

**La Corda D'Oro Drabbles**

**Written By: BlueRoseParamour**

**Pairings: Hinoxall  
**

_Author's Note: Hiya, guys! New to this, though I have been reading for a long long time. Thank you all writers for giving me a lifetime worth of amazing literature and creativity! _

_I like La Corda D'Oro; It's quite easy to write for. So in the Summer Hols, I click-clacked on teh keys to produce this... a selection of short drabbles for La Corda D'Oro. _

_Enjoy! _

_P.S. Please ignore the spelling mistakes. If you spot anything wrong, review the story and stick in there where I went wrong there. Tschuss!_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI.  
_

* * *

Let's just get one thing straight.

I, Hino Kahoko, am NOT dense.

In fact, I am not dense at all. I'm pretty smart, if I do say so myself. General Ed student and all that jazz and I can play the violin. So therein lies the problem in my life.

But how is anyone meant to deal with 5 handsome and musically orientated boys all vying for their heart? Would you ever make a decision? Would you WANT to make a decision?

I suppose you're nodding your head, 'Yes!'. But it's not that simple as to pick the one who's the best, the kindest, the coolest, the richest or the funniest. 'Cause, for some weird trick of Fate, they all are.

How come life can give you blessings so bloody bittersweet?

I love them all, I really do. They make the most wonderful music, and care about me (I'm not sure about Yunoki-senpai, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt) and all of them are so talented. How am I meant to choose?

But what's more it's not about me, it's about them. Competing together in the concours has left us all with deep memories about our time together. How could I EVER live with breaking 5 hearts, in pursuit of one? How can it be justified?

Well…Let's start from the beginning.

* * *

Ryoutarou Tsuchuira

OK, my best friend in the concours. Friendly, athletic, clever, frikkin' amazing at piano (though he tried to hide it), great smile, tall (too tall, in my opinion; he's a giant! No wonder he's good at sport), and caring and kind. Basically every girl's dream guy, as far as that sounds, right? But… I don't know if I'm ever going to start thinking about him for more than a friend. But even if he wasn't the one, he probably would back up my decision, if he could see it would make me happy.

_Hino, I'm not trying to be funny or anything… but you know I'll be here for you, right? As a friend and a … a-a… older brother. _

_So if that guy ever treats you badly, just give me a ring and I'll … *cracks knuckles*_

I can just imagine Tsuchuira-kun doing that. He wouldn't mind. And that's the best thing about him. Even if I didn't choose him, I would still want him by my side.

* * *

Next up, Shimizu-kun. Cute as an angel, but would I really want to go for a _kouhai_? Honestly, isn't that just WRONG? So he's definitely out of the question.

Now that I think about it, I've always seen him like a younger brother. That fits. It's fine. Sorted. But… his music is so touchingly calm and beautiful… I could fall in love with music like that…

I wonder what he'll be like when he grows up… gorgeous blonde angel…

*Cough*

Ahem, sorry. I digress.

* * *

Hihara Kazuki, my favourite trumpeter. He always makes me laugh, always smiling, cheering me on. My own personal fan club, in a sense.

But he's so… loud. Happy. Optimistic. I hate to think what would happen if I didn't choose him…

_Hino-san, I-I hope you're going to be happy. I-I wanted to tell you too…_

No, I'm just overworking my brain. He'd be the perfect person to go to on a rainy day. His music sparkles, like him.

The way he likes me is just too obvious, to be honest. A clown who wears his heart on his sleeve. Petrouchka, the dancing clown.

I like him a lot, but… I'm not too sure.

* * *

Yunoki-senpai. Strictly speaking, he shouldn't even be on the list! He's a cold, conceited, bi-polar sonofagun (excuse my language), but I'm the only one who seems to know that. Maybe it's because he knows he can trust me, that he teases me with his 'other side' … but his music is… so hauntingly sorrowful.

His reaction if I didn't choose him… is terribly scary, it doesn't bear thinking about.

I feel sorry for him, sometimes. His genius had been crushed because he's the third son, forced to wear a mask everyday, never letting it slip in front of others… I think he tries harder than anyone else. But he'd never admit to that. He's far too proud.

And I think, that the word 'playboy' was invented for a guy like Yunoki. He teases, charms and flirts his way into being. He seems to have everything, doesn't he?

So what's the promise he's gonna love me unconditionally?

* * *

His arch rival, Kaji Aoi.

OK, not being funny or anything, but he's like THE fairytale prince, on a white horse, comes to sweep you off your feet. Blonde hair, gorgeous-ish green eyes, athletic, a hopeless romantic, good family background, rich, clever… but his music… seems to hide something. I really wasn't expecting to walk in on him playing the viola in such an amazing way. I really didn't know what to say.

He reminds me of Tsuchuira-kun a little, _he hides it_. He hides the fact he has such a wonderful talent. I think it's a bit silly.

And the way he kissed my hand, when we first met. My goodness, I swear that all the girls in my school were ready to kill me. He's so obvious the way he likes me, it makes me a bit embarrassed. It makes me wonder… if I'm actually good enough. For a guy like him. He says it's my music, but… I'm still learning and I'm really not that good. I'm not pretty, or rich so it just raises questions why he does like me?

I can't complain; I'm in the position girls would die for. But I would so happily give it up for a bit of piece and quiet with just me. If I did choose him, my life would be a haze of comfort and happiness. If I didn't, he'd still be a friend to me, and I'll be grateful for that.

He is the kind of guy who could love you for a lifetime and longer, no matter who you are, what you look like, and whatever happens. As long as you're happy, he will be as well. He'd be the perfect boyfriend.

But I've only just got to know him.

* * *

Tsukimori Len, the ice prince.

What can I say? He's cool, calm and collected. The fortress never seems to break.

…

…

Well, once. Or twice. But I'm the only one to notice so it might just be me.

Despite this, he's also a ladies' man. Literally. Lots of girls admire his looks (not to mention his music) but he's too… cold. Brushes them off like flies. Too… closed off.

Yet his music is perfect. Which makes me wonder, how can music so perfect come from someone who doesn't seem to care?

His technique, by far excels mine (obviously), but his emotions… feel fake. Like a little child playing the violin, not a 16-year old teenager. It's like he's still frozen in that time when kids play and don't know what things like love, or hurt, or pain, or passion feels like and they can't make others feel that in their music, so nothing in their music has feeling. His music is like that.

His music lacks all of it. The only thing I seem to hear is the beauty of the violin that so many others fail to bring out, the power – arrogance, even – of being a genius, but the quiet screams who someone who just wants to be left alone, with just him and his music.

I could only fall in love with his music, for that man. To be honest with you, I think that I might have already.

* * *

I wish I could help all of them, and I love them all so dearly, but helping them would mean being _in love_ with them alone. I can't love one heart unconditionally and shatter six instead. It wouldn't be justified. It would be incredibly harsh.

But then isn't there that saying, 'All's fair in love and war.' Maybe… but…

Why?

**Why is love just so confusing?**

* * *

_A/N: There we are the first chapter of my first fanfiction! Please review because there's plenty more still to come. _

_I like writing for Hino. She's a very... clear character in the manga and the anime so I decided to put on my own little twist and make her different. What IF Hino knew the boys' feelings for her? What would she do then? Probably the same as most of us in the same situation, shut up, head down and DON'T FALL IN LOVE! Obviously easier said than done. XD Again, the interpretation of the guys is just the way I see each of the boys, not at all true. Hehe.  
_

_P.S. I am truly sorry if my writings seem to be along the same lines as yours. I really don't mean to plagarise and if I do, just tell me and I will remove it, though preferably, I will try to change it. _


	2. Fireworks

_Author's Note: Yo people! Here is Drabble Number 2, inspired by Guy Fawkes' Night. For those of you who don't live in England, it's celebrated as the day Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament, therefore we set off fireworks in remembrance of what could have happened, but didn't because the plot was found out. _

_So enjoy!_

_Thank you to Gizelle-chan, the first person to review for me!!! Mucho gracias. _

_The pairing is LenXHino, for all of the fans out there!_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI.  
_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

**Fireworks**

Chaconne falters. I lift the bow down. I look, warm, from my window. The dark sky reigns outside, the clouds glittered with the moon's brilliance and beauty. The night sparkles with fireworks. Streaks of red, green, blue and silver shake up the sky, in a seemingly brilliant dance. The firework streaks upwards, whistling a single note as it travels, before exploding and crackling in the midnight with a bang. The dying embers fall to the earth and if I look carefully enough, I can still see the stars that once adorned the stage. Black velvet curtains are now just curtains of a play without the actors leading the song.

The back of my room reflects in the window. It's odd how I can see the outside so clearly and still only glimpse what is really going on inside. It does seem strange...

I put the violin back in its case. It's not like me to do that. To stop practicing so early. There must be something wrong with me.

I open the door and walk outside. The air is biting cold and the wind whips in my face, mussing my hair but I don't seem to care. Something drags me outside tonight, for a reason I can't explain.

I hear more bangs and crackles in all directions and it confuses me. The sky is dark, with no strokes of colour to fling across the canvas. It feels so empty though I can hear the _bang!boom!bang!_ all around me. I turn around in all directions, blindly like a child, trying to catch a glimpse of colour. I try and turn and turn and try but nothing appears. Nothing happens, it's just… black.

More bangs and I still can't see the fireworks. I'm still turning and reaching my eyes in all directions, trying to find flashes of red in the night.

I stop turning. I stand still. The bangs are still going off.

Silence.

I turn to go inside, my coat rustling as I move my arms.

'Tsukimori-kun!'

A voice resounds behind me. I turn to see who it is.

'Ah… Hino…' She's standing outside of the gate, looking at me through the twisted metal.

She smiles at me brightly. Like the fireworks. 'I can't believe that you of all people would come outside on such a night! Is something wrong?'

'No, I'm fine, thank you…'

She smiles again and walks up the gate, setting her violin down. More bangs go off into the night but no light still, she just stands there waiting.

And though I was just going to go in, so do I.

_Bang!_ The most beautiful firework appears, it shoots upwards, singing in harmony to the wind, and flashes in brilliance of silver, green and purple. The silver streaks glitter magically in the sky, and are swallowed into the night.

I feel exulted as if I can accomplish anything. I glance at her hand lying stationary on the metal gate and before I can stop myself, reach up and grab it.

She turns to me, eyes wide and shocked. And she looks so… angelic. I can't stop the smile that paints my face.

This seems to freak her out even more, but soon I am also graced with seeing the other one smile. How beautiful happiness is.

The night is illuminated with a thousand colours and sounds, flashing across my face in a rainbow of blue, red and silver.

Then the night is silent once more, as if it's not Bonfire Night, as if the world is just going on with its daily business.

I stop. I stand still. I take a deep breath.

And wait.

Gently I let go of her hand. She turns to me, her face suddenly upset, her demeanour immediately downcast. I keep my face expressionless as I take a step back. She takes a step forward, as if to reach out to me. She drops her hand and looks at me pleadingly, questioning what's wrong.

Silently, I open the gate.

And step outside.

She's still confused, not quite understanding. I walk up to her side and take her hand once more.

'Thank you, Hino-san…'

She still doesn't quite understand, but at least now she's happier. She leans her head onto my shoulder and the world stops.

There's just silence as we stare into the black midnight.

I give her hand a squeeze and she turns to look up at me. I can't tell you how happy I am. A true smile graces my face and everything seems to be a whole lot brighter than it was before.

Before I can say anything to her, another beautiful bright bang flickers and dances in the night.

* * *

A/N: Whew! There goes another drabble, I will write some more soon.

The reason I write for Len and Hino is because, I think, they ARE the Violin Romance. For those of you who don't know, La Corda D'Oro is actually a dating-sim, in which you can chase after your favourite bishie. The company made an anime for this game to promote it, and now, fingers crossed, there's gonna be third series. It seems that whenever there's a a new version of La Corda D'Oro coming out, they make a new series. However, the second series for La Corda D'Oro was only two episodes long, so we won't keep our hopes up. But according to Koei, the official ending is said to be Len and Hino; that's why Len (again, my thoughts) is made to be the hardest to get. In my opinion.

Please, please, please don't post this on forums or something like that saying, 'So - and - so off said that...' because I myself am not too sure. This is just what I've read of people who have bought the games and are kept up-to-date on the various goings on in the Dating-Sim world in Japan.

So whatever I write at the end of the story is just because I need to drabble onwards. About my life this time, not Hino's.

Tschuss!

P.S. PLEASE review! I am only a young writer, so I really need to know where I can improve.


	3. La Mer

_A/N: Boom, how's it going?_

_Here's another installment of Forgotten Listener, called La Mer, which is French for the Sea. Hope you enjoy it!_

_Written By: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairings: Hino x Ryou_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI. _

* * *

**La Mer**

Hino is like the sea, Tsuchiura muses. She's brilliant in her storms, loving in her calm demeanour and passionate about the things around her.

The sea also has an effect on people that very few have been able to explain. They say, the only way to experience such an beauty is to do it yourself.

And so, as he looks around the room at his fellow male concours participants, Tsuchiura knows they have all set off the harbour, some more readily than others.

Hihara-senpai was the first to set off, and now due to his eagerness, he is hopelessly lost in the mysteries of the sea, without a hope of finding the way home. He is in far too deep to back out now.

Yunoki-senpai is still in the harbour. He wishes to go, but is frightened of the consequences. To be honest, Tsuchiura can't blame him; who wouldn't be with the devil for a grandmother? However, he is also making plans, ones which would ensure that he is the first to win.

Shimizu-kun is slowly rowing into the horizon, with a confidence that is dream-like. He stops to admire the smallest things; the way the light dapples in ruby red on the ocean waves, the way that at times the water is so clear, it seems you can see straight into the soul of the never-ending enigma. But he is far too slow, too hazy, Tsuchiura doubts he will ever get there. After all, why should he? It seems that there is already someone waiting for him at home.

As for Tsukimori… Tsuchiura read somewhere that the force of the moon controls the waves in the sea. He believes this is true. It seems that Tsukimori is the moon, and whatever he does, says or thinks has some sort of profound effect on Hino. Whether he means for it to or not.

For example, according to Yunoki, the Ave Maria which Hino had always loved so much had first enlightened the ears of the beautiful girl from the violin of Tsukimori.

And whenever, Tsuchiura asked her why she would practice that piece so much, she would always reply, with a smile, that it was because it was the thing that had propelled her to take part and give her damned hardest effort in the concours.

The way she always goes on about not letting 'Tsukimori-kun' down, and making sure that her standard is always the best it could be for 'Tsukimori-kun', sometimes Tsuchiura honestly feels like killing the Ice Cube! Why doesn't he realise that he has the best position to charm the beautiful girl they all long for, and to make her his own?

Apart from, now he does.

_Why, oh why,_ Tsuchiura scolds himself, _did you have to say to him that you liked Hino? And to him of ALL people? And now you've just made HIM start falling in love with the girl. Until then, you had the best chance! Same year, department, good friends and all that jazz. Why did you HAVE to do that?_

_But anyway_, thinks Tsuchiura, calming down a little, _that Ice Cube is going to be out of the picture soon. Thank God for a little place in the world called Vienna and for the Music department's eagerness for allowing him to study overseas. _

Until Kaji Aoi had trundled along.

When Tsuchiura heard of his existence, he was so sure that the game was up. Straight away he thought that Hino would fall in love with the blonde pretty-boy.

But she hadn't, and for that he was grateful.

But Kaji Aoi was not an opponent to be unwary of. From what Tsuchiura has seen, he is athletic, handsome, clever, talented and romantic. He has a good family background. He also has a storm of girls running around after him, but he intent on getting Hino.

And so, Kaji Aoi has also joined the race, with a fleet of ships at his command, while he himself steers and sets course, like a prince on a mission, towards the heart of the sea.

As for himself, Tsuchuira is not sure where he stands. He knows that he is also in the race, but where he should go next, he does not know. Should he just let their relationship stay as it is; good friends, brother and sister even, or maybe he should go for something further? Because he knows that whatever happens, he will always be by the sea.

And that he will not give up this position.

For it has captured him; the way Hino smiles with beauty that would put the sun to shame, the way her attitude always seems to put another star into the night sky and the way she made him fall in love, with her and the piano, all over again.

And yet it scares him, how much he cares about her. Tsuchuira knows that if he should love her just a little bit more, it would be his undoing. It scares him how, when she is around, his internal rhythm is always just a little messed up. He then has to try harder than usual to keep the love he has so strongly nurtured hidden.

But nothing will make him falter in his stride, not even turbulent waves that is always affected by the moon, or a thousand cannons shooting at his little ship; he will not give in. He will never leave the sea.

Far better to succumb to its beautiful melody and to be pulled down under, than to never hear it at all.

* * *

_A/N: There goes another on! I'm doing well, updating one everyday. I only wrote this a couple of hours ago, so it's hot of the press. I will try to change any bits that people aren't happy with though. _

_Thank you very much to jazzzz who also reviewed my story! Thank you!_

_Until next time, _

_BlueRoseParamour_

_P.S. There is a little green box down there that says 'Review this Story/Chapter.' Yep, that one. Click on it. Got that? Now, REVIEW!!!!!_

_LOL, please do review though. It really makes my day. _


	4. Apples

_A/N: So here is another chapter of Forgotten Listener. Thank you very much to jiyu22, gizelle-chan and jazzzz for reviewing. Gracias!_

_Written By: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairings: Hihara x Hino_

_Summary: Apples are just like her, Hihara realises..._

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI. _

* * *

Apples

She smells like apples. Fresh golden ones picked straight off the tree in the heat of summer, the red ones in the supermarket that reminded him of her hair… the soft Royal Gala apples which he always loved to eat… the crisp green ones reminded him of the time he played the Gavotte with her; never had he heard his trumpet make such a beautiful sound with another instrument. Her violin, the way her fingers danced on the notes and made the most heavenly sound, the beautiful smile that adorned her face, the adorable crease between her eyebrows as she strove to make each note perfect. Never had he seen such perfection before.

And when her violin broke in the third selection, he wanted nothing better to do than hold her, and smell her scent, to convince himself that everything was alright as well. Because it scared him too, the way he was so affected by her. The way when she was around he would turn a bright scarlet to match her hair, the way his heart would somehow beat a whole lot faster when she was around.

_I suppose_, thought Hihara, _this is what young love feels like. Like an apple, crisp, soft and tantalizingly delicious. _

_And apples aren't bad_, he thought to himself. _In fact, they are very nice fruits._ _Apparently, they're healthy for you as well_, he wondered on, _so_ _I don't know why in stuff like Snow White and the Bible always portrays apples as a bad thing. _

Yet Hino is like that a little. The apple in Snow White; whenever she's around him, just a little too close, his entire body feels like its on fire, and he can't move. He becomes a statue, enamoured by his love for the girl in front of him. He wonders what would happen if she _kissed_ him…

The apple in the Bible is always seen as a bad thing. _But_, Hihara muses, _she is so very tempting…_ The way she would smile at him, the way her smile seemed to light up the sky, the way that whenever she giggled, Hihara wanted nothing better to do than to jump out and capture those lips.

He wonders how long he will be able to keep his feelings to himself. He knows that his guard is already falling when she is around, even when she isn't. So the best way would be to confess to her. Seriously. And rather bluntly as well. So she gets the message straight away.

That'd decided. Right then, to business. How on Earth is he going to manage THAT? Hihara runs the possible scenarios in his head…

_They're at the amusement park in town and they're on the Ferris Wheel. Just when they're getting to the top where the view is breathtaking, unexpectedly, he will pull out a bunch of roses from behind his back and softly say, 'Kaho-chan, I love y…_

No, no, no! What on earth is he thinking?! It feels like he's going to PROPOSE to her or something, nothing like a simple confession.

_Or maybe he should take her to the Wind Park again. After they've played a duet, and the wind is singing a melody that echoes his heart, he will take her hand and lead her to the edge of the hill, where they can see the sea. That is when he will make his move…_

Arghhh!!!! Wrong again. How the hell is he going to get to that Park anyway, it's on the other side of Japan for heaven's sake!

No, something better than that, he'll be able to do…

And so deep was he emerged in his thoughts, he didn't see the person coming up towards him.

'Argh! Sorry! I didn't see where I was going… I am really sorry… Hihara-senpai!' The person who he crashed into is chirruping loudly and he looks down to apologise, when he realises that it's actually Kaho – chan herself.

He smiles down in shock, but his heart is beating so fast at how close they are.

'Hihara-senpai! Fancy seeing you here! I thought you'd be at Orchestra Club or something… Hihara-senpai? Senpai…'

He realises he is gazing at her without replying. Quickly, he replies to her questions.

'Oh, I just happened to pass by as Orchestra is cancelled today… I was just going to see my brother in the park…Say, Kaho-chan, do you like apples?'

Her face is shocked at the randomness of such a question but she recovers quickly and is soon chirruping happily, like a little robin bird, with the soft red feathers.

'Apples? Yep, I love apples! They're my favourite fruit since I was little…'

'Would you like one?' he says, taking one from his bag, 'They're from the organic market down by the bridge.'

Her face beams as she takes it from his hand. Fingers brush against each other and with a shock, Hihara realises how much this girl really means to him. And how much she really needs to know about it.

'I love you.' he whispers fervently, with all his heart as she brings the apple to her open mouth.

She stops. And looks at him.

Her eyes are exactly the same as the colour of the apple. It was unique, that was why he picked it. A deep rich sunset yellow flecked with dark crimson.

She's in shock. Her face is a mask of surprise.

He brings his head down; he waits for the anguish to start. The pain of rejection, the broken heart and everything else like it. Pain, unimaginable pain.

When he looks up again with tears starting to form his eyes, words of 'I'm sorry' forming in his mouth, he sees that she is contemplating. Looking between the apple and him… the apple and him… the apple or him.

Before he can do anything to stop her, her lips are on his, slowly, temptingly, like hell's torture. She brings her face up to his head and starts to run her hands through his hair.

And before he knows it, he's doing the same to her.

But she doesn't taste like apples, he muses as their mouths dance, she tastes sweeter, softer and riper…

She tastes like the Forbidden Fruit.

She tastes like Heaven and Sin, all rolled into one.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you for reading this, and I hope you weren't too disappointed!_

_I don't know when I'll be able to update next, because Fanfiction dot net seems really stubborn at letting my access my account at times. I only get five minutes max each time. _

_But enough about the future, let's talk about the present. For you. XD_

_If you would like to have a chapter, dedicated to you, Fanfiction account or not, visit my profile for the details and leave a review! _

_Until next time, _

_BlueRoseParamour (15/11/09)_


	5. Perfection

_A/N: I'm Alive! And back with another installment of writings, so here we go!_

_Written By: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairings: None really, just needed a good rant about music and Len. _

_DISLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI. _

* * *

Perfection – Len Tsukimori

I remain stoic when I wait to compete, focusing on how the bow glides across the strings in perfect partnership with my fingers and the notes. I run the song again in my head, perfecting every note, enhancing the single sound, creating perfection. Gently, slowly, I block out everything that could distract me from making a perfect performance.

When I step out into the light, to the sound of a thousand hands moving in unison, I am thinking only of what my hands will do. With that thought in mind, I raise the bow to the strings… and play.

Then I forget everything. Everything vanishes, nothing exists. Apart from me and the music. I _capture_ the notes, I tame them to my will and make them dance the dance I desire.

My fingers fly across the strings, in exactly the right places, creating exactly the perfect pitch. Everything else gently falls into place after that, and I am in MY domain, a place where I reign supreme, where music, my violin, and myself melt into a single entity. The eagle, Lord of the Sky; the wolf, Ruler of Icy Kingdoms.

And the music reaches its climax, before falling away like autumn leaves smattering a gasp of beauty in everyone's minds.

But Perfection is… still a little further away.

When I hold the trophy in my hand, the other enveloping the violin and her bow, I have but one thought, one goal.

_Perfection_

Practice makes perfect. And so I practice. To capture the perfection I dream of. Because I know someday I will grasp it.

Mother says the reason I practice so much is because of the _pressure_. There is no pressure. Certainly not from the other violinist in the competition. I set the benchmark others strive to follow, not the other way round.

It annoys me so that people can't see that my music is far from perfect. It annoys me even more that some people, namely that baka on the piano, think they are the same level as me. All right, he is good. But it's entirely different instruments.

It annoys me even more that I don't know why I can't get that perfection.

But most of all, it annoys me that Hino seems to have that one thing that I don't have. She's not a genius. Her technique is mediocre. But her music… seems to tell so much more than just playing. It's like she sings from the heart.

I don't know why it is, but everytime she plays, life seems to shine a lot more than usual.

My music dazzles with brilliance, but never in the way I want. Not the heavenly glow of angelic violins.

And so I will continue, until perfection is at last mine.

* * *

_A/N: Not a lot of romance in this one, I'll try and do something a little bit better next time. _

_That's all for now!_

_BlueRoseParamour_


	6. Pretty

_A/N: I feel really bad, guys, not updating as much, so while I was meant to be doing my English Essay, I decided to type this instead! Hope you like it! Makes up (a bit) for the abence of romance in the last one. _

_This is set, if you have been following the manga, just before Len leaves for Vienna, which is at the end of the cultural festival. _

_Written By: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairings: Len x Kaho_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI. _

* * *

'Do you think I'm pretty, Tsukimori-kun?'

Len very nearly choked on his tongue, when he heard Hino pop such an unexpected question. He could see that she was distracted during practice, and was just about to reprimand her for stopping so suddenly in the middle of their duet when she had asked _that._

'Hino, this is a violin practice session, not a beauty pageant.' he replies, struggling to stay in character. 'Anyway, what is your reason for asking me?'

'Well, thing is, someone (_that someone being the blonde transfer student_, thought Len dryly to himself) said that I was pretty and I really wanted to know if it was true or not, so I decided to ask a few people but they…'

Len sighs deeply, wondering what on earth goes on in that brain of hers. He had thought that she was a girl who was different, fussing over music instead of boys, make-up, and how they looked but it turned out a girl will always be a girl, and Hino was a girl, therefore she would puzzle over trivial matters.

'I really don't think I'm the right person to ask, Hino-san. Why not try the other participants?'

Immediately, Len knew exactly what she was going to say, from the delicious (_what! don't tell me I'm falling for this ill-begotten girl as well!) _shade of pink that painted her cheeks.

'Well, I did,' she replies, flustered, 'but no one gave me a proper answer. Hihara-senpai started blushing and saying that I was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, so I got a little suspicious _(About time too, _thought Len, _that guy was really getting too obvious)_… when I asked Tsuchiura-kun, but he wouldn't tell me outright, saying that he'd tell me after the concert (_So that's when you're planning to make your move! _Len's inner smile widened and he chuckled to himself)… Yunoki-senpai just flashed me a ladykiller smile and told me I looked sweet… and I couldn't bring myself to ask Shimizu-kun… and Kaji-kun just totally blew it out of proportion, dropping down on bended knee and reciting Romeo from Romeo and Juliet (S_o it wasn't him then?! If not, who was it?) _… so no one really gave me a proper answer!'

She turns around with a smile, blushing furiously at her rant just now.

'Do you think I'm pretty, Tsukimori-kun? You're the only one I can think of that will give me a truthful answer in this!'

She smiles up at him, still blushing.

He takes one look at her adorable face, and knows that he can't lie.

'Hino-san. I will be truthful, even if it doesn't sound nice. We deserve each other's honesty and that only, do you understand?'

Hino's smile vanishes a little, scared of the answer, but she still nods, expectant.

'You're not pretty.' He says, all in one breath.

Before her eyes can go wide with shock, he places both hands on her shoulders and speaks in a calm, soothing tone, layered with a hint of something more.

'You're beautiful.'

And with that, he moves in, placing a delicate kiss on one smooth cherry-flavoured cheek.

* * *

Omake:

As both violinists pack up their instruments, Hino still blushing furiously, Len slightly love-drunk, a sudden unbidden thought crosses Len's mind. One that he couldn't stop forming into words.

'Hino-san, may I be as so bold to enquire who paid you such a compliment?'

Kahoko, with her cheeks flaming red, says in a dreamy voice.

'Oh, it was Etou-kun, from the park. He was being really nice to me one day, and he said I look pretty.'

With that, she casts one longing look at the handsome young man, whose mouth is slightly slack, not that she notices, and heads out the door.

Len is raging a furious battle inside his head…

_What! There's another one! And I've only got until the cultural festival… right, boys, from now on, it's all systems go…_

* * *

_A/N: I really hope you enjoyed it, I think its one of my favourite drabbles I've written, after La Mer. _

_Stay tuned, cause there's more coming up. _

_BlueRoseParamour_

_P.S. Thank you to EVERYONE who follows and bothers to read my stories. I would truly be lost without you._

_If you want to know more about La Corda D'Oro 3, head over to my profile page, I've got a website posted up there, where they've got Vampire Knight, La Corda and lots more!!!  
_


	7. Selfish: Part 1

_A/N: Boo! Here comes another one! It's in a really different mood, for some odd reason, I just had to write something that was sad and really emotional this time. So here it is. _

_I might write another installment later on, of the same plotline, to lighten the mood up a bit, but for now..._

_Written By: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairings: Len x Hino (Sorry, if you think that I'm writing too much of this. I'll try and squeeze in a Kaji x Hino sometime, or something)_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHTS GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI. _

* * *

I, Tsukimori Len, think that I deserve to die.

I do not know why I have such thoughts, as I stand on the stage of the Carnegie Hall, rose petals falling from the ceiling, the roar of a thousand-strong audience as they clap and cheer for my music. My violin rests in one hand, glowing in brilliance as my partner in crime, the one that I couldn't live without.

I scan the crowd, watching, searching for I face I yearn to see.

No.

She's not there.

She never has been.

With one last gracious smile, I exit the stage.

*****

'_Len!' An angel calls my voice. _

_I turn around, and in one stride, catch the running girl into my arms. _

_For a few moments, I breathe in her scent and we giggle, before I plant a delicate kiss on her nose. _

'_How are you today?' I ask her, still holding onto her as tightly as possible. _

_She smiles, but doesn't reply, instead choosing to answer with her lips on mine instead. _

_*****_

She's everything I've ever wanted, and more. If I was asked to list three of things that had ever happened to me, she would definitely be one of them.

I'm glad I fell in love with her, because I can't imagine falling in love with anyone else.

I was so scared that my feelings were going to be one-sided. I bet you're thinking, 'What, Len Tsukimori, scared?!' and now that I think about, it isn't really like me and I can laugh at myself a little, but I was scared. Strange what love can do to you. Rather, strange what Kahoko could do to me, without even trying.

_*****_

_The kiss deepens and soon we break apart. I crouch a little to get to her height so my face is level with hers, and whisper into her ears,_

'_I Love You.'_

_She looks at me with eyes that are so full of love and passion, so bright and full of life. I kiss her on the forehead, when I realise it's about to rain. Turning around, I open the umbrella and reach backwards for her hand. _

_It's not there. _

_All I'm holding is a glossy piece of crimson ribbon, the exact same colour of her hair. _

_The wind whispers her farewell. _

'_If you loved me so much, why couldn't you just let me go…'_

_With a scream, I quickly let go of the ribbon, but too late. The wind picks it up, and it flutters in front of my face, making me unable to see…_

_*****_

'KAHOKO!'

I wake up alone in my apartment, the thunder and rain raging outside.

It was just a dream, one of her… just a blasted dream.

I fumble around for a light and soon one bursts into vision.

She's been the one, who has been haunting my dreams for the past 2 years or so. I can't get her out of my head.

I can't forget what I asked her to do.

I can't believe how selfish I was.

*****

FLASHBACK:

'Kahoko, please…' I whisper into her ear.

'What, Len?' she giggles, not knowing what's going on. 'What are you trying to say? Len?'

I don't realise that there are tears streaming down my cheeks. She pulls me in for a hug, but I pull away, forcing myself to look at her instead.

_Take a good hard look, Len. Because this is the last time you're ever going to see her happy…_

'I'm sorry, Kahoko… Truly sorry…'

_For what I'm about to do. But it's the only way that you're going to be able to move on…_

'Len? What's wrong? Please tell me, what's wrong? Is this about you going abroad? We've been through this before, remember? You're going to try your hardest and so am I, and one day, we'll see each other again…'

_But that's not fair. It's not fair on you. You're going to have to be alone for so long. I can't bear to see you sad. That's why I'm doing this, Kahoko, because I don't want you to feel unhappy. _

'Kahoko, I… You have … I…' She looks at me with apprehensive eyes.

_But I can't say it. I can't bring myself to say the words I truly need to say. Instead, I say the cruellest thing I have ever said to her, to anyone…_

'Please wait for me.'

_END OF FLASHBACK_

_*****_

They were the cruellest words I have ever said to anyone, so why did I say them to her, the one woman who had truly brightened up my life, and taught me how to love her, and the violin. She was the one that held me together when things got tough, she was the one that would run to me for help, but somehow I would end up being the helped.

I hold my head in my hands, and let the tears come. Because I know that they will.

Soon, I am weeping, hating myself, wanting to die.

Forgive me, Kahoko, when I couldn't say those words. I couldn't say that we had to break up, because I was scared, again of what might happen.

How could I be so selfish! Asking her to wait for me?! Now she has to suffer all alone, without anyone else by her side. It would have been better if I had just left her, so that she could mend her broken heart with someone else, someone who would actually be there for her, who loved her even more than I did, enough to stay with her for a lifetime. But instead, I asked her to wait.

Lately, her e-mails have been getting more frantic, more worrying, as I don't reply. I don't reply on purpose, trying to push her away, to someone with whom she can be happier, because they are actually there. They aren't halfway across the world, like I am. They'll be the one to hold her when she gets sad, the one who looks after her when she is ill, the one that she can depend on. I know that person is not me.

_I cared more about your happiness with me, than your happiness for ever…__  
I cared more about myself, than I did you…  
__I am so sorry, my love…  
My biggest crime, Kahoko, is that I will always love you too much…_

*****

It's been a month and he still hasn't replied.

_Where are you, Len? How are you doing? How did the latest concert go? Do you not love me anymore? _

You asked me to wait for you, and here I am. No matter how many confessions I get, I will always wait for you.

_Because… I love you. _

* * *

_A/N: Arghh, I know so many people will probably want to kill me right now. Don't. Instead, load all of your worries for my mental health into the review you're GOING TO WRITE!!!_

_LOL, please do review. If you have any suggestions on how to make my storiess better, please don't hesitate to shout at me! XD_

_Or if you want a drabble dedicated to you, review as well! Fastest way to get to me!_

_Thank you to all those lovely people who follow this story and review. *Bow* I am in your debt. _

_Signing off, _

_BlueRoseParamour  
_


	8. Secrets

_A/N: Heya! This is BlueRoseParamour, who is VERY VERY sorry for not updating for such a long time. This story is dedicated to Jazzz, who gave me this idea in the first place, and also to xxfirebubblesxx, as a commoration for her first beta-read for me. Thank you very much to the both of you and thank you to my wonderful readers as well, for giving me reviews along the way to help me! Thank you, to everyone who reads and enjoys my stories. I tried my best with this one, so I hope you enjoy it. _

_Written by: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairing: Yunoki and Amou_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO (Oh, but how I wish I did!), ALL RIGHT GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI!_

* * *

The secrets he keeps are never to be told. To anyone.

Because they are about her.

And therefore they are the most precious things he has ever held.

And lost.

He looks around at his extravagant lifestyle – the money, the lies, the glamour, the pain, the adoration and all that crap. He has over a million pounds in his personal bank account, more than that in various other places, a country mansion on top of this family home, beauty, brains and brawn. Things that he has accumulated over the past 27 years of his life. But for everything he has, he does not have her.

The secrets that kept them apart will plague him forever.

* * *

_Snow was one of the only things that could make him laugh, and it was on such a day that he met her. _

_He was allowed (finally) for some free time after a hard week of exams, along with Miyabi. All she wanted to do was to go around looking at clothes and necklaces. Being a good brother, he had tagged along, but soon got bored and wandered off on his own. _

_Then he heard that voice. _

_It was outside in the plaza of the shopping centre, a chorus of choir boys and girls were singing a hymn, and the lead soprano – Nami Amou. _

_Snowflakes fell delicately resting on his nose, lips and eyelashes. 'No way…', he thought. _

_Snow rested on her head as well, creating a little halo of heavenly white on top of golden locks, crowning the person in a character to fit the voice. _

'_I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin._

_I see the blue above it…'_

_A pair of startling blue eyes opened and sparkled as the chorus swelled and it was then, as she held the high note, that Yunoki Azuma's heart fell in beat with the heart of the angel whose voice had captivated him. _

'_How can I keep from singing?'_

From that moment, he knew that if there was one thing that he had to have, had to collect, it would be her. The angel and her voice – he would be the one to trap it. He would be the snake that charmed the fallen Eve, and stole the sweet maiden's innocence.

***

A few weeks later, Yunoki Azuma was annoyed. For all his charm and wit and beauty, he could not get this damn girl.

The first week back after the holidays, he had offered her a lift to school in his limo, rather than see the poor girl battle against the blizzard. However, she had calmly smiled and walked away, only to get into some random guy's car across the street.

During that week, he had bought a single rose and was planning on charming her as she came to her locker after school. But as expected of Yunoki-sama, he was mobbed on his way there, and by the time he reached the throng of screaming fangirls from both the Music and the Gen Ed Department, she had already left.

At the weekend, he bribed Miyabi to give him one of her most prized pieces – a bracelet made of Swarovski crystals – and left it in the soprano's locker first thing on Monday. Only to find when he returned to the Gen Ed Department, that she had unceremoniously dumped it in the bin, saying 'I could never date a guy who gives me such extravagant gifts because they're only after one thing.' He almost screamed in anger.

The next week, he left a different flower each day on her desk, all of them meaning love and passion.

He didn't realise that she had severe hay-fever, and was threatening the guy who had caused her so much bother.

_That's it! I don't care how, but this girl is officially impossible to charm! I'm not used to this – most women just fall at my feet. _

A ghost of a smile plastered his lips, and he chuckled evilly.

_Well, _he thought, _if I can't get her by playing the nice romantic guy, I might need to show her my true side. After all, they do say that good girls like bad boys…_

With another humourless chuckle, he went back to his flute practice – _Meditation_, by Jules Massenet.

***

At the school's most prestigious event, there is drama. And where there is drama, Amou Nami is sure to be.

She walks down the cool corridors in a strapless black dress, camera at the ready. All it takes is _Click! Click! FLASH! _The wrath of the journalist has struck - your life is no longer as private as you would wish it to be.

So deep is she absorbed in the thoughts of such a scoop – say the Violin Romance? – that she does not realise she is being followed, and has been ever since she exited the main dance hall.

Yunoki had realised his chance and quietly follows her through the dimly lit corridors. He knows that if there is to be magic in the air tonight, it will be for him. Stealthily, like a predator, he stalks his prey.

_I am being followed, _she finally realises, _Is it a boy? Can't be, no boy has such soft footsteps. And if he wanted something, he would have done it ages ago. _With this thought in mind, Amou spins around, straight into the arms of Yunoki Azuma.

Without missing a beat, he pushes her against the wall, and leans down to capture her lips. Before she can protest, his lips are on her; dark, bitter and sensual. She puts up a struggle, tugging his long hair, but if anything, this just fuels him more. Soon she surrenders and he locks her arms against the wall, restraining her.

She realises that even if she does escape, the mark this man has made on her is far too deep, and if she tries to run away, it will hurt her more than if she stayed.

The events of the night that followed were to be kept a secret, they agreed, as they made the vow of love in the dark.

***

But seeing as it is Seiso Gakeun, no secret stays that way for long. Within the morning, the whole school knew that Amou Nami was going out with Yunoki Azuma.

Well, they didn't _know, _they just _suspected. _A very strong suspicion.

Couples **in love** hold hands in public, kiss and tease each other with flirtatious glances. This is all too obvious to the outsiders of this relationship as they puke at the PDA (Public Displays of Affection).

Nami and Azuma did not do this. They kept their relationship to the barest minimum, only touching for fleeing moments at a time – brushing past in corridors, handing over dropped handkerchiefs, a light tap on the shoulder to ask where someone was. However, to the friends who surrounded them, the fact that they loved each other was far too obvious. An extra spring into Yunoki's step almost scared the life out of Hihara (where was the graceful elegant friend that he knew?!) and when Amou came into school without her camera in the morning, her friends could only suspect that something was wrong. Moreover was the way that they both would gaze off into the distance, as if dreaming about a perfect world, and when they did, their eyes would be filled with such a love and understanding, that no one around them could doubt the beauty and sincerity of their love.

Those months for Azuma were the happiest of his life. They were filled with music, song and passion. No one could bring him down. He had everything he could ever wish for, and a whole lot more. That extra bonus came in the life-sized form of a feisty, funny and talented brunette girl.

***

He could never quite understand how Nami loved him so innocently, so passionately, and without abandon. For her, it was just the fact that she DID love him, and that should be enough. She never mentioned his other side, even though she knew it existed. When Azuma had breached the subject, she had simply replied, 'Both parts of you exist. Everyone has two parts, it's just yours are more noticeable. To me, it doesn't matter who are you, because I choose to love both sides of you.'

And that was what set her apart from the other girls who fawned over him. They had only seen the light side of him, never the darkness. But Nami brought those two together, and whenever he was around her, the line between the two would blur, until only a few aspects of his dark side would remain. Around her, he had never felt so free.

But then she had so suddenly left. And with her, happiness left Azuma's life. Just like that. He suspected his grandmother was involved, so smooth was the departure, that he never even realised what was going on behind his back.

When she left, he felt like he was never going to be free again. The line between the darkness and the light stepped back in, stronger than ever before. The side of him that Nami knew would be only for her. It was their secret.

All she had left behind were the memories of the times they had shared and a single precious letter.

And so it read;

_My dearest Azuma, _

_ Firstly, I am sorry. For all the pain I will have inflicted upon you, though it was never my intention to do so. Just remember, should you ever hate me; that whatever you feel can only reflect a fraction of my own pain. _

_I have to leave you, because I know, even if you don't, that I am simply a restriction to you. I am only stopping you from what you should be doing, which is being respected for your hard work and talent. By the time you read this letter, I will be far away, in England, where I will receive a high-class education to become a lady. Then, when the time comes, I will appear before you again, as one that you can love without restriction because the face to which we present to society is one of a happy, elegant family. I sincerely wish for this time from the bottom of my heart. _

_Yet if we should ever meet again before that time, I ask you to avert your eyes and simply walk away, as if we were strangers. _

_Know of this though, my darling, if I were to be jailed for my greatest crime, it would be for loving you more that God would allow. I want to see you shine, Azuma! Your name covered in stars, and a flourishing empire in your hands. That is where I know I will once more hear of your name, sung in the hymns of the world's most wonderful heroes. This is why I have to leave you, so you can shine like a star without something dragging you down. _

_If I can never appear before your eyes once more, then I ask only of this. For you to find someone who can love both sides of you as I did, or whatever way for you to be happy. That is my only wish. _

_Do not worry about me. There is nothing to worry about; I have money and company. My life is full of comfort. My only regret is that you are not here to share this happiness. _

_Thank you for bringing joy to my life. Thank you for teaching me to love you, music and myself. Thank you for loving me. I shall never forget you, ever. _

_Your lover and friend, _

_ Forever, _

_ Amou Nami_

***

Yunoki Azuma cried tears of true sorrow and love, as he gently stroked the tearmarks by her name.

* * *

****~FIN~****

****~完~****

* * *

_A/N: There we go! Another one! Woopie! Now please please please REVIEW!! It would make my day!_

_Wondering what the other character was under the Fin? It's the Chinese character for Finish. I could imagine, as I was writing this, that if Amou and Azuma had got married, then it would be a Chinese wedding. I think red is the colour of thier relationship - passionate, fiery and utterly beautiful. 'Nuff' said. _

_Wondering about the song that Amou was singing? It's 'How Can I Keep From Singing?' - a Traditional Irish melody, often sung by the choirboys of Libera. YouTube it, it's beautiful. _

_Signing off, _

_BlueRoseParamour  
_


	9. Selfish: Part 2

_A/N: *Waves* Hello there people! Here is the promised installment of Selfish, which is rather aptly named Selfish - Part 2. And don't worry, it does have a happy ending. Lots of fluff and cuteness for ya. Enjoy! _

_Written by: BlueRoseParamour_

_Beta-read by: xxfirebubblesxx_

_Pairing: Len and Kaho _

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHT GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI. _

* * *

I won't go back there. Ever again.

Never back to her arms. Never back to the love of my life. I will never return.

How can I? For someone like me, who has left and given up someone like her. How can I expect that anyone will be there for me, apart from perhaps paparazzi and my rabid fans? I don't deserve forgiveness now.

I should never have fallen in love. I should never have been so selfish.

I should have sectioned myself off from the world and stayed like that, never allowing anyone to come in. I should have made the walls of ice thicker, and the paths leading up to it more treacherous. I should have not the sun shine on my ill-begotten land.

I should have stayed in New York, and never ever board a plane back to Japan, never to step foot on my home country ever again.

So why the hell am I currently in the First Class waiting room in Tokyo International Airport?

So wait…

'_We_ _have just received reports that the world class violinist Tsukimori Len is about to be homebound for Japan! The young Mr Tsukimori has expressed his wishes for a home-coming concert for a long time now, and at last his visiting visa has been cleared. We wish the young musician lots of luck in his home country.'_

Why is the 40-inch TV in this room blasting out news that isn't supposed to exist?!?

Have I expressed 'wishes for a home-coming concert'? What the bull?! I expressly remember saying to my manager only last week that if there was a place where I would not go, it would be Japan.

So why the hell am I here?

Maybe it was…

-

"_Yo! Tsukimori! How's it hanging?" A man's voice booms down the phone. _

_I groan, not bothering to hide it. "What the fuck, Tsuchiura? It's…' I glance at the bedside clock. '2 o'clock in the damn morning here. Are you trying to earn a death penalty? Don't even get me started on how you got hold of the number of my private landline." I growl down the phone._

_Light guffaws from the other end. "Yeah, you twonk, I knew it would be nice to call you at such a prime time in your beauty sleep. But seriously man, why are you so strung up nowadays?"_

_I don't reply. _

_A whistle echoes down the phone line. "Look, mate-"_

"_I am NOT your mate, especially not now, and never was or will be."_

"_Jesus Christ, man! Calm down! I was just going to say, I know that we never really saw eye-to-eye in high school but I'm just trying to help. The news that we get over here in the French Conservatoire isn't doing you any favours, you know."_

_Freeze. "What news?"_

_An incredulous tone sneaks into his voice. "What, you haven't heard?! Holy crap, it IS worse than I thought! You don't even know!"_

_Still frozen. "Know what?"_

"_All the tabloids… they're saying you're gay."_

_Current state: shattering._

_Before I can say anything, Tsuchiura cuts in. _

"_Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a pile of bull. But could you at least just say something about it? You know, press conference or something? Just to dispel the rumours. Or grab yourself some hot chick and parade for the world to see. I mean, personally, it doesn't at all affect me, or any of the concours participants. But you know, the polls have started showing that your popularity is going down, man. It's just discrimination to the rest of us, but people are funny these days. Look, just get yourself a girl, for God's sake. Main reason, they're doing this, 'cause you've never got yourself a girlfriend in your career. Get out there more, Tsukimori!. I've heard Meera Lynn is a big fan of – well, not just your music. Damn, check out the legs on her-"_

"_How is she?" My voice gives just that little away, just a teardrop amount of sorrow. _

"_Hin – Her? Yeah, she's doing great, actually! Got her teaching diploma underway, always talking about going over there and seeing you – Tsukimori?'_

_It's only then that I take note of the choked sobs and the tears that linger on the edges of my face. _

"_Oh, I'm sorry. Continue, please."_

_He doesn't quite seem to buy it, but keeps on speaking anyway._

"_Yeah, she's pretty happy. Always smiling, always… yeah, happy." He finished rather lamely. _

_I have to know. I must. Even if it's not my right. "She hasn't… you know?"_

"_What? Found another guy? Hell no. She's always going on about you. Talking about how one day you're going to have kids together in her dream house. Jokingly, though. Like she never is quite sure whether to believe it or not. When she heard on the radio that they thought you were gay, she laughed out loud and started nattering on about how if you did do something like that, you would tell her first. But after she said that, her face was just… I dunno, like it was breaking inside or something. But the girls are there for her. Mori and co. They always tell her to keep on believing. Countless men have tried to woo her - hell, even a kid three years younger than her – but she always says no."_

_Pause, as I try to digest this. _

"_She really loves you, you know. I doubt there could be angels that loved so much."_

_I don't bother to reply, and just hang up._

_-  
_

Doesn't he know? I can't look at any girl, anyone, without comparing them to her.

Maybe it was that. Or maybe it was that February evening, when I was at the President's Lover's Ball…

-

_For Christ's sake, get me out of here. _

_I am a professional musician. A man of calibre and standards. A gentleman who has been well-brought and treats women with care and understanding. _

_Ladies, I am NOT a one-night stand. _

_So please, just go and hang out with the rock stars or something, someone who actually cares about where you did your hair, or who you last dated. C-list starlets are just plain annoying. _

_Sigh. I'd better get out of here fast, before someone else decides to ambush me, and get into my shirt. Honestly, I thought these girls were meant to be civilised, but now it seems you can't even trust the staff in this place. _

_Exiting the dance floor, I make my way to some secluded pagoda, with lily vines and jasmine decorated around the pillars_

_A girl pops up in my vision. She smiles at me. _

"_Hello. Can I sit here please." It's not a question and so I don't answer. Nevertheless, without my consent, she plonks herself on the seat next to me. _

"…"

"_Oh! I am so rude. I haven't introduced myself! Katrin Krass, I'm a voice actor." She holds out a hand, which I don't shake, and then drops it. _

"_Tsukimori Len, violinist."_

"_I've heard of you before. Forgive me for saying this, but I am your biggest fan! I totally love your music – it's so calm and relaxing and soft…"_

_This girl is starting to get on my nerves. I need to give her a good shot of my ultra-death glare. I raise my eyes in a look of unimaginable hostility and…_

_This girl… her hair. _

_It's red. _

_So crimson, so red. _

_Just like Kahoko's. _

_Ah, but the more I look, the less it does seem like hers. It's not as shiny nor does it have that much lustre, and it's violently curly. But just for a second there, in that trick of light, her hair looked exactly like Kahoko's… Like my Kahoko's…_

_Before I realise, the girl is so close, nuzzling against my neck. I try to back away, but her hands pin my wrists down. The lights come again, and her hair looks so crimson, I just can't look away…_

_The girl lifts her face towards mine, aiming for my lips. She looks into my eyes. _

_No. _

_No. No. No. _

_They're green. _

_Not topaz. _

_Oh shit?! What am I doing? I jump up, mumble a quick apology, and dash off to find Frank. I have to get home now. To silence, to peace, to loneliness._

_To a place where she won't come up and exist. To sleep. _

**(Start playing Kiss the Rain, by YIRUMA. Trust me, it helps! xx)**

As I ponder, I don't think it's any of those things. But the chauffeur interrupts my reverie, and leads me outside.

To my surprise, as I go down the escalator, there aren't many people. Seems like Tsuchiura or Yunoki pulled a few favours to make sure the media got the wrong information.

Shame. Because I'm not going to thank them, especially not the pianist.

The lobby is very empty. It is 4 o'clock in the morning after all, and on top of that, a weekday. Very few people are here, just a few relatives who are probably waiting for university students coming home on their mid-term break, that sort of thi-

Hang on, is that…?

Wait.

There she is. It is her.

Kahoko.

Standing, in the lobby. Waiting for me.

She's grown taller, and more beautiful, if that was ever possible. Her hair is still as fiery and bright as ever, but it's longer. Water droplets trickle down on the glass plane walls from outside, the backdrop a stormy grey.

A pale face with two beautiful dots of faint rose turns towards me. Eyes sparkle.

She doesn't say a word, instead letting the tears pour down her face.

I don't know what to do. She hasn't made a move, and so neither do I. I will wait. She probably won't want me back. She's probably just here to spite me, to laugh at my miserable life, and to haunt me with words of hate about how I left her for such a long time.

I keep on walking, towards her, to the spot where she stands. I have to talk to her, even if it's just to hear the words I dread her to speak.

She glides towards me, and her hands reach out to my face. I close my eyes, so that my last image of her is not of her angry with me, but of her years ago, when we were so deeply in love.

I brace myself. I have never been slapped before by a lady, but I suppose there's always a first.

But it doesn't come. Instead, her slender and warm hands reach out to cradle my face, to stroke it, so lovingly, I feel as though I want to cry.

Whispers of her voice reach my ears. It is softer, slightly lower, less excited as I remember it, but still holds the soprano ring that I utterly adore.

"Len… You're real… real… Len… Len…"

No, stop it, please. You don't deserve to call my name like that. Like you actually love me after what I made you endure. Don't make me suffer any more that I already have to.

"Oh my God, Len!" Arms wrap around me, and hold me in an everlasting grip of tears.

She whispers my name. "Len, Len, Len, Len…"

My eyes started to trickle down tears as well. I whisper gently, in between breathes of hastened sorrow, while the past four years of not caring and being separate catch up with me. "I-I… I'm so sorry… I'm sorry… I-I.."

I'm crying.

Instead of me comforting her, she starts to comfort me. "Hush, now. You're here. We're together. Together…"

She loosens her grip on my neck and starts to move away. But I hold on to her, always holding her in an embrace.

" I will never let you go again." I breathe into her ear.

And that's the way we stay, in the midst of the hustle-bustle of everyday life, the sounds of life and the backdrop of rain clouds and rainbows.

**Together. **

_A/N: Ah, young love. Hehe xx  
_

_I really hope you did take my advice and listened to Kiss the Rain. I adore that piece so much, and it perfectly fits the theme I was trying to write for in this chapter. I'm betting most people will have heard it before, but if not, YouTube it. Most romantic and beautiful piece of piano music I have heard, and I mostly listen to Alternative rock or Classical. You will love it, even if it's not normally your thing. _

_Thank you to everyone who reviews, particularly those who add my stories on favourites, or alerts. Many hugs and kisses, because you are the reason I shall continue writing. _

_Lots of love, particularly to my new beta-reader, xxfirebubbles, and to you, _

_BlueRoseParamour  
_


	10. Letter

_Hello again! I haven't died yet, but will soon due to the copious amounts of random tests my professors throw at me. Sorry for not updating in an eon. _

_I wrote this on a whim. I won't tell you what it is, because that would ruin it. I hope you enjoy this, and for anyone else with exams, good luck! _

_This is for the anonymous person who reviewed Chapter 3 (I think it was chapter 3). You have no idea how much that particular review meant to me (all reviews are brilliant BTW, so keep them coming), because it reminded me so much of myself, when I was the one who cast anonymous reviews at authors whose stories I adored and I am so honoured that I was the first author whose story you reviewed. If you are reading this, thank you. You made me realise how far I've come. _

_Without further ado, here it is._

_Letter_

_Written by: BlueRoseParamour_

_Pairings: Len x Hino_

_

* * *

_

Hino,

_I want to whisper your name, your first name, into your ear as a breathy tickle so that makes you laugh and giggle in that way that __drives __me crazy. _

It was on such a day that I met you. When the wind was riding on hues so clear it was glass, when the sea seemed to swell up and fall into a sphere, when the stars dropped and faded into the backdrop that was the fiery dusk sky, when the world seemed to stop and completely disappear.

_And I always say my prayers for such a day, because it was __my __first day to have you. _

Because I was so entranced by your face, the look of sheer bliss and admiration, the way your eyes danced in time to my heartbeat, and the feeling of you looking at me… it annoyed me, because no one had ever said what you said to me on our first day, and something inside of me shifted, and I felt so alone and so vulnerable, yet so open and free.

_I know this is going to sound soppy, and Tsukimori Len does not do soppy, but what I'm trying to tell you, Kahoko, is that I've been touched by your character for a very long time, before I even realised it. _

And then there was your music. I had never heard anything like it because I had never wanted to. I had never let myself stray from the iron path I had constructed for myself; no mistakes, no false turns, no getting lost or going off track. But your music was everything right in the world and everything wrong in me. You had created something I never had; emotion. Feeling. Passion. Sadness. Love. For the first time in my life, I… changed. I viewed things differently. I thought and I pondered on different things, and so I changed.

_And when your music… changed, so did I. I wanted to run on stage and to hold you, to let you cry and scream and shout at me, to let you be angry at whoever, and to help you in any small insignificant way I could. I didn't care what you did, as long as you did it to _**_me_**_. Not some idiotic pianist._

There were the times we played together. I never really understood how much I loved those blissful minutes because I hadn't realised they might never come around again. Besides, it was always with Ousaki-senpai or the orchestra, so I never thought much of it. But that day, a few days ago, when you played with me on the rooftop, I finally knew and I finally understood.

_Kahoko, I love you. _

_No, honestly, I truly do. I can't stop thinking about you (I can't believe I'm actually thinking this, I'm Tsukimori Len, for crying out loud, and I don't do soppy – or romantic). It's like a poison; I wake up from dreaming about you, and then I can't decide if I'm awake or not, because you're still there in my mind and it's utter paradise, and I know that, Heaven forbid anything happen to you, it would be as painful as taking away music from me. _

_You are my music now. _

And so before I leave, I have just one last request. Save Ave Maria for me, for the times we had, for us. I know it is selfish, but let's just be selfish once, you and I, and take something of our own.

_Because you have been SO selfish, Hino Kahoko; you've taken my heart, and you're not giving it back. _

_T__o be honest, I don't ever want it back. _

If we ever meet again_, _at the Paris Conservatoire or the Carnegie Hall, call my name and I'll turn around. I shall never forget you, my friend and student, because of what you have given me. And if there is time, take me with you to the nearest music store and we can browse through CDs like we did at our time in Seiso.

_But I've made up my mind that the next time we meet, it will be at the Italian Opera, bursting with passion and love, and I'll let myself be dragged off by your small hand to the Swarovski jewellery store to look for our wedding rings. _

Good luck, and I wish that all your dreams come true,

**Tsukimori Len**

**

* * *

**

_Hmmm... Thank you again for reading, concrit is always welcome, and special thanks to my lovely beta-reader, mimi-chan. _

_By the way, for those of you wondering what the whim was, it's quite simply a conversation I had with one of my friends. She asked me, 'Where would you want to get married?' and I replied, 'Venice, because it's beautiful and romantic, even though they might charge me a fortune, the music, the view, the food and the feeling of being there with the person you love the most is completely priceless.' OK, so it's never going to happen, but it was such a cute thought that I immediantly could imagine something happening to Len and Hino. _

_And we all got to see Len embracing his romantic side... (wink wink)_

_That's all from me, and until I update again, _

_Adieu. _


	11. Stadium

I'm back! I'm alive! Here's the recent drabble that I clacked out, with all the World Cup hype. Enjoy!

Written By: BlueRoseParamour

Pairings: Len x Kaho (all I seem to be writing)

Beta'd by: Mimi-chan 3

* * *

She had only agreed because Hihara told Tsuchiura told Kaji that she had nothing to do on the night of the first match and she thought it would only be impolite to decline- it only seems right to be celebrating the fact that Japan is hosting the Cup for the first time in a long while.

In actual fact, Hino Kahoko had plenty of things to do, including marking music papers for school kids, cleaning her apartment, walking the dog, and practicing her violin.

But when it actually came down to it, she realises that she'd been keeping life on a slightly short leash for the past few years; never going out, not socialising, not really taking risks or trying new things. She'd never been into football before, apart from the odd game or so when there was nothing better on the TV. But now, she's decided to go with the flow and get out there a lot more.

This is the new Hino Kahoko. This Hino Kahoko would not spend insane amounts of time gazing out to the blue sky and thinking of the colour of his hair, or dreaming about the sound of his violin and voice instead of paying attention in lectures, and not being able to go to the haunted house at the fair without reaching for his hand.

So the new Miss Hino Kahoko finds herself in a room full of noisy university students, with her best friends huddled around her, holding a glass of mildly alcoholic substance and wearing an insanely coloured football shirt.

Bliss.

"You know, Kaho-chan, that shirt really suits you," Hihara chirps up, noticing her vacant expression.

Before she can reply, Tsuchiura clips the green-haired man on the back of the head and reprimands jokily, "No flirting with a girl until kick-off!" before responding with an equally flirtatious wink of his own.

She laughs with them, and knows that they are simply kidding, playing the old game they used to play, but without such fierce competition and interest. They all know the way she was when he left and each tried in their own way. However, she kindly let them know that such attempts could only lead to sadness and it would be unfair to choose because it would mean hurting the others. But she was grateful and that there was always a place in her hearts for them.

The boys, disgruntled and defeated, had simply sighed and moved on, content with being her best friends.

She glances around and notices Etou in the corner, brooding and brilliant, gaining much attention from the ladies. Scary, how much older he looks for his age.

Kaji comes to join them, as do Shimizu and Nami, but before they can greet anyone at the table, the roar starts up and signifies the beginning of the game.

Kahoko can't hear properly over the hubbub, but she knows that as soon as the conversation starts to drop and falter, that something special is happening.

She just never expected it to be this.

It's his, him, his violin playing. She suddenly can't find words to come up out of her choked throat, and every nerve in her body starts to burn with a feeling she hasn't experienced for a long time. Out of habit, she makes herself turn around to watch the cerulean-haired man she knows will be on the screen.

He's changed but, oh, he's still as handsome as before, perhaps even more. He's taller, leaner, but every inch of him still radiates power and passion for what he's doing. His music has gotten better as well, if that were ever possible, and it seems there is more of it, and it fills up the room and her entire being until she feels like she's flying. On his face, is the tiniest fragment of a smile, at being able to fulfil his dream of performing in front of a thousand people and million more through a TV screen, and she knows he is happy. It's a passionate piece he is playing, resonating every note with pride and beauty, as he accompanies the team with the national anthem.

It is only then that she realises everyone in the room is looking at her, for she has tears streaming down her face. She looks up and around the table, at Hihara's brilliant grin, at Tsuchiura's gentle smile. She can feel Nami wrapping her arms around her, and Shimizu's gentle hand reaching for hers.

She looks up and Kaji, and asks breathlessly, "You knew, didn't you?"

He nods, an unmistakable apology in his eyes, before gently wiping away her tears and giving her a piece of paper.

They all move away now, to give her some space and go back to the game, and it is a few moments before she can look at the slip in her hand.

It's a ticket, to the very match being broadcasting live, a 15 minute walk away from the little pub she's sitting in now. She remembers the boy talking heatedly about not being able to get decent-priced tickets for the live match at the Studio Stadium in Yokohoma. She curses herself for not paying more attention to the Sports section on Yahoo.

Tsuchiura notices that she has noticed and gives her a little shove to the door.

"Go. He's still got to play the other team's anthem as well. Just remember to invite us all to your wedding."

She throws her arms around them quickly, glad she has so many wonderful friends that are willing to do so much for her. Before they can react, Kahoko is running towards the door. Suddenly, she hears someone call her name. She turns around and a pair of car keys whizzes towards her and out of reflex, she catches them. Etou stands with his back to the wall, eyes glittering, one arm raised. She throws a smile in his direction and leaves the noisy room.

Once out of the hot pub, she sees the car in question parked on a double yellow line and her jaw almost drops. _A Ferrari?_ Honestly, how can a kid afford a Ferrari? But before she knows it, she is climbing into the red leather seats, thanking God for Etou's need to be flashy and his disregard for rules.

It take her just over a minute to get there, with her foot stepping on the pedal at 70. Who cares about the cops? This is the new Hino Kahoko and she goes with the flow.

She gets there in record time, just as the Japanese anthem is ending. She races to the ticket stands and slams the piece of paper on the desk.

The woman at the office takes one look at her breathless and flushed complexion and the hasty way she parked the Ferrari on the sidewalk and is about to open her mouth when Kahoko, spurred on by something she doesn't recognise, gasps, "Please, please, Miss, I really need to see him, please –"

The woman smiles as if understanding something and tries to explain that the match is already underway at that there is no way she'll be able to meet him on the court if they're about to be playing soon.

But Kahoko perseveres, breathlessly talking that she really _has _to see him, no, it's more than a matter of life and death, it's a matter of her shattered heart…

The security guards are shaking their heads to their story, thinking this is just another obsessive fan and gently try to pull her away. They almost get to her car, when a sudden burst of energy hails her- she brushes them off like flies and sprints towards the gate. In one elegant leap, she hurdles over the security bar and is running, running to the stadium, where she can still hear his violin, keeping time to the drum beats of _God Save The Queen._

She bursts onto the seating area, causing many people around her to stand up, startled. But she doesn't care that there are spectators shouting at her and guards chasing her as she races down the stairs and jumps over the fence and starts making her way to the blue haired man at the centre of the court. She only cares about him.

The stadium is roaring now, wondering aloud in unison at this small fiery-haired intruder. Kahoko knows how she must look right now, hair flying all over the place, breathing hard and looking flushed. The lights shine on her and flicker, casting her shadow in every shape and direction, everywhere.

The violinist is somewhat confused at the sudden commotion, but it is only when people start shouting obscenities that he turns around, bringing an abrupt end to the song. There, walking calmly towards him is the very girl who haunts his dreams with her enchanting siren song.

He almost drops his violin in shock. When she reaches him, she almost laughs at how tall he seems to have become in a few short years. Yet all the words she has been bursting to say, ever since that day at the airport, when he kissed her so lightly on the cheek she thought it was unfair and would have died to be given more, have disappeared, flying away in the wind and getting caught up in the emotions of a thousand beings.

It is he who says the first words and they are so simple she almost breaks apart.

"I came back."

But then, at last, she looks up to his eyes, and sees all those promise, those sleepless nights dreaming about her as she has him, those pieces that were never Ave Maria, and those autumn leaves that reminded him of her hair. She sees every emotion flickering through his eyes; love, passion, sorrow, guilt, pain and knows that he feels the same.

And the new Miss Hino Kahoko goes with the flow and gives in to her impulsive nature, and stands on tiptoe to reach his lips with her own.

She never expected his reaction to be so passionate, so utterly captivating and so reflective of her own. His own lips capture hers and they are so soft and loving she wants to melt. Hesitantly, she runs her hands through his glorious hair and feels the bridge of the violin pressing into her back as he circles both his hands around her waist.

The cameras realise what has happened and over the tinny replacement track for the English National Anthem, the crowd roars with approval. This is the real stuff! A little bit of romance mixed into the big game is exactly what they wanted.

They break apart when Len feels a drop of hot liquid on his cheek, and knowing the next works are going to be 'I'm sorry', decides to take initiative and leans down to kiss her once more.

Words are never to be needed, not when they have music and this.

* * *

Sorry if you don't like footie. I personally love the game, and was so disappointed when England went out. :(

This isn't my favourite drabble, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Lots of LURVE and pleas for more reviews,

BlueRoseParamour


	12. Sleep

_Hello :) _

_I'm back. Alive. (JUST) I hope you'll forgive me for not updating in an age. I hope you enjoy this - or at least as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you to the person who asked for this - HauntedFlautist, this one's for you. _

_Please feel free to kill me for not writing in an age. I honestly honestly feel like I deserve it. _

_Thank you so much to mimi-chan, who puts up and shifts through all my literary vomit. Girlie, I could not live without you. _

_**Written by: BlueRoseParamour**_

_**Pairings: Shimizu x Hino**_

* * *

'Jesus Christ, girl, how much sleep have to been getting?'

'None.'

The answer is crisp, curt almost to Kanawaza-sensei's question, and Keichii can feel the tiredness radiating off her. She looks terrible. A wreck. It baffles him how her music is still as wonderful though.

It was a slow thing, like all things, for him. He didn't realise just how much he wanted her until he saw her heart break when Tsukimori left. He didn't want to intrude, because it appeared the job of putting her back together had been left to the capable hands of Tsuchiura and the blond friend of hers that sent most girls into a flutter, but he wanted to do something.

He saw her at her lowest. He didn't really mean to. No, honestly, he didn't. He'd left his notebook in the practice rooms one day, and after running a few errands for his mum, dropped back in to collect it. The school was still open, according to Hihara-senpai – the orchestra club was practicing for the CD recording they planned to launch.

He walked past the silent classrooms, and gazed out at the brilliant sunset. Two colours, so totally portraying her – the gold of her eyes and the crimson of her hair, blended together, touched by the lightest shades of pink. Beautiful.

He twisted the handle on the door of the room and was shocked to find her, sitting by the door, motionless, save for the tears that were streaking down her cheeks. He didn't know what to do. The boy's natural instinct screamed for him to run, but the man who loved her told him to stay.

And so he did. He sat down by her, surprising her a little, and pulled her small form into a hug. She'd wriggled deeper. The rivers that flowed from her eyes became seas as she wept and wept for the boy that had left her. He didn't say a word - he was just there. And for that, she was grateful. She fell asleep in his arms, and it was him carried her home.

A few days later, she'd asked him to go to the café with her, as a way of saying thank you. He went along and was amazed by her pure nature. Never before had he seen someone so completely in love with music. Never before had his heart ached more for a girl he was sure he could never have.

When they parted that evening, after talking endlessly for hours, he'd been slightly jealous. If only she could direct a fraction of her love for music onto him, he would have been content.

That night, he played the cello. But he didn't just play, he _performed_. Their sound became one, of string and of wood, of man and of love. That music was everything he'd been searching for – his perfect sound. Everyone on the street heard him, for he had let his window wide open, and they sighed with passion. He knew what he had to do.

On that day, he'd woken up early. Rare for him, but do-able nonetheless. Instead of his usual slow pace, he ran to school and raced through the doors. He set everything up. Then he went about his daily business as if nothing was any different.

That evening, he waited. His insides were in turmoil.

But she came, looking surprised and curious. He motioned for her to sit on the bed, not saying a word. She sat. He looked to see that she was comfortable. She was.

And so he performed. He played everything he had on the night of their first date. He told of everything he'd ever felt for her, and her music, and asked the tentative question not with a cupid's arrow and bow, but with cello bow and bridge.

And she listened and understood. She heard every note and every drop of liquid emotion that was rushing forth, and she drank in his message.

And when he finished, celestial blue met molten amber and the words were said/SPOKEN.

'I-I'm in love with you.'

And she said words that surprised him so much, even though he'd always dreamt of it.

'So am I.'

A kiss sealed the deal.

And he returned the favour, by lullabying her to sleep with the song he had written purely for her. Their music. And that was when the simple practice room, with its brown panelled walls and black grand piano, became their world, where the sun shone with the brightness of amber and the sea and sky became the eyes that seemed to have invented the colour blue.

When he saw her next in the corridors, this time hounded by a worried Etou-kun about the state she looked and the terrible lack of sleep, he'd given a angelic smile and simply said, 'My place, 8 o'clock?'

The smile he got in return held in his memory, with the brilliance of reality and the perfection of a dream come true.

* * *

_Ah, the wonders of sleep and shuteye. Which I am not getting enough of. But hopefully without this hounding my dreams, I'll be able to sleep well _

_Love and love and LOVE, _

_Rosie x  
_


	13. Soft Touch

Hello! I hope you haven't forgotten me, though I will understand if you have - I haven't updated in more than a year! Thank goodness I only write one-shots; if I wrote a longer story, I think half of you would want to kill me! Provided you actually like my writing, of course. XD

I don't know why I've been away for so long - I just lost touch, I suppose. The point of this account and writing (in the beginning) was to procrastinate and now that my exams are nearing once again (apart from this time, they are the real deal! GCSEs - ARGH!), I've discovered the gem that is Fanfiction.

There's been a lot happening in my life since and recently, I've just felt like I have so much more I want to say. I don't know what it is - maybe the fact that I need to move on and really get my act together. I always feel better after writing something, even if it's just a drabble.

As I don't know where my beta-reader has gone to after being out of touch with her for so long (I'M SORRY, MIMI-CHAN! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!), this is sadly unbeta-d. Hopefully, she'll see this and either shout with glee or scream with terror at my awful punctuation. Either of which, I'll be glad to have her here back. :)

Because I love him so much, Ryou features in this one but with a different leading lady, Mori Minami. BE WARNED THOUGH: It is a little more 'sensual' than the usual stuff, but hey - it's the holidays! I think we all need a little bit of love after such a difficult year. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this very short little ficlet.

_**Written by: BlueRoseParamour**_

_**Pairing: Mori x Ryou**_

_Oh, before I forget: __DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LA CORDA D'ORO, ALL RIGHT GO TO KOEI AND KURE YUKI._

* * *

She likes it when he plays the piano for her.

The way his body and soul sways and pours into the music he is making, and the raw emotions that set her heart on fire. The way that when he plays the piano, his eyes are closed and his face seems to angelic and childlike, she wants to hold him so badly. His hands wander so elegantly over the piano, and the music he makes will only equal that of angels.

He likes it when she plays a duet with him. The hands flow on the keys together, creating the perfect duet, and on places where they must overlap, she always puts her hand on his and smiles.

He likes it even better when she runs her hands through his hair when he plays for her. Her hands are soft and warm and they stroke his hair like a feather tickling him.

Unfortunately, when she does that, he never manages to finish the piece.

Fortunately, she doesn't mind it when he stops playing and kisses her with a passion to rival the music he was making a while ago.

The best music they make, though, is when they are together. Kisses, embraces and love fuel a desire a passion only they can awaken in each other. Their touch for each other is only shared with one other thing; the piano.

* * *

This drabble, I don't know what inspired it. It just felt like I needed to get something off my chest. I've always wanted someone like Ryou in my life - if not as a boyfriend, then just as a friend. He's so completely dependable that I couldn't imagine not being safe with someone like him. I suppose, if anything, he's the older brother I've always wanted. :)

Hopefully, I will update soon. I already have another fic planned but I'm not sure if many of you want to read it, because again, it is fairly sad. I'll explain more when I update. Until then, my lovely and faithful readers,

So long, and take care! xxxx


	14. Free

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I raced to get this ready for you guys!

**Pairing: Len X Kaho**

**Written by: BlueRoseParamour**

* * *

Dear Tsukimori-kun,

_I'll fall out of love with you and the world won't be as alien anymore. _

I didn't know that you would write me a letter. I didn't know you could write so beautifully either. But for both I am grateful and so I'll deliver this with a smile.

_I'll forget your smile and forget your face and I'll remember the fun times I had with friends without you there. I'll forget the first time you smiled at me, in the amusement park. I'll forget the touch of your hand as you led me through that haunted house._

Do you remember the first time you heard me play? I have to admit, that was definitely the highlight of my violin playing even though it was only the second time I'd played it myself. It seems odd, especially after what has happened, but I feel that if I hadn't heard you play Ave Maria like that, I would never have been able to start off on such a high. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you for being my inspiration.

_I'll party like there's no tomorrow. I'll rave with every boy who doesn't look like you. I'll ask them questions, and 'Can you play an instrument?' won't turn up in the conversation. _

I'm sorry my letter isn't as good as yours. I'm not used to putting thoughts onto paper. I can't write as well as you do either.

_I'll forget your voice and your laugh as rare as they were. I'll remember the turmoil that comes with the happiness of hearing those sounds, and I'll remember the pain. I'll forget your music. I'll make my own. I'll rip all the foundations of my life apart, of my own sound down and start it up again. This time, there'll be no space for you. _

I'm so glad I am that I came to Seiso. If I hadn't come here, then I wouldn't have been able to take part in the concours and therefore, I wouldn't be able to meet you and all the other participants. So thank you, for simply being here, because for me, meeting someone like you, was more than enough.

_I'll join a different music college. I'll make friends there. I'll fall in love with another violinist – or several. I won't look at them leaning over my shoulder to look at the music in orchestra and think of you. I don't even play that piece anymore. I'll lust after the leader of the orchestra like he's a god. I'll kiss the cutest boy there and you will never pop up into my mind. _

I'm also quite grateful for the tight spots we've gotten each other out of. Me splashing water on those other boys, you helping me with the bandages on my hands, you lending me all your CDs when I rudely intruded, you helping me when I went far to fast when we played with Ousaki-senpai, tutoring me after school and helping me improve… I guess it's pretty obvious that you've helped me out a lot more than I have you, whatever you may think. So again, thank you for helping me out in times of need so willingly as you did.

_I always was a bad liar. Try as I might I can't make myself believe that I'll forget you, because I know I can't. _

_I fell in love with you and I fell in love with the music you made. It's everything that defines you, Len – so how could I not love it? _

I know that this will be hard, not seeing you here, not having you as a teacher anymore. But I know that you were always destined for something big. Even your name says so – the moon, right? Reach for the stars, I always say, because then even if you don't succeed, at least you'll see the moon. Not saying you'll miss, but just to illustrate my point; you were always going to succeed.

_Sometimes at the dead of night with only the moon as my witness, I lie awake and I kid myself that I fell in love with music because of Lili and Corda he gifted me. The fairy and I both know that's not true. I fell in love with music because of you. Because you were standing there, playing Ave Maria like it was exaltation to life itself and I felt the music worm into my heart and fall in time to its beats. _

Think about what you could be, Len! Just think! Your name could join the list of great violinists – Menuhin, Perlman, Paganini – and all the while your music will inspire billions. It will touch their hearts just like it has touched mine. They will fall in love with you like I have. A thousand hearts desiring your music.

_And hey, if we were meant to be, then we'll always meet again, no?_

Wherever it may be, on the sandy shores of Yokohoma, at the star-struck gallery of the Carnegie Hall, in the soft brown acoustics of the Barbican or on the street in some random town; I promise you, Len that I will smile at you, and lead you to the nearest music shop where we can endlessly talk about the thing we both love the most.

_For me it's you. _

Ave Maria will always be reserved for our time together and if we do ever meet again, I hope that you'll still play with me.

_So I send my love to you (it's a one-way ticket), along with my dreams and I hope you fulfil it. Because not only do you carry my hopes, you also are burdened with a small fragment of my heart. Despite all this, Len Tsukimori, know this one thing; it's because I love you, that I set you free. So fly without me, but never stop singing our song. _

All my deepest thanks and good wishes,

Hino Kahoko x

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If anyone is interested in the back drop to this little drabble, I'll be happy to update this section. Right now though, I'm a tad tired. Again thank you for reading! You made my day (year, more like - haha)

May this new year bring you happiness, hope, good health and success, not forgetting, of course, love,

With that, I'm gone!

Roselynn xx


	15. Silence

HA! I'm actually updating this year! Wow, that really is a surprise. Yes, I have changed the title - it's still the same set of one-shots though. I just felt it was time for change and revamping so there you are!

This one explains the title of these one-shots. I hope you enjoy it - it's definitely my favourite so far.

**Written by: BlueRoseParamour**

**Pairings: Depends how you read it. **

* * *

His favourite sound is silence, as he nods happily in the quiet courtyard.

You can sleep to silence, you can dance to it, fill it up with your own music or someone else's. To him, silence is truly golden.

Music is silence. He realises that now. But each piece of music has a different melody, and therefore a different kind of silence.

And each person has a different kind of music.

For example, the man who saved him the first time, his melody was a legend. The way he shaped his words, Lili could really see that he was so in love with music. His vision of the school he was going to build – for once in his fae life, Lili wanted to be human. Just for a decade, just so that he could see the wonderful school this man was going to build. Lili would listen enraptured for hours on end, as he lay in the cushion, listening and dreaming about such a beautiful place, where music was life itself. Sometimes the man would suddenly stop talking and dream about the vision he had, and Lili could hear the music pouring out of his mind – hope, knowledge and happiness. The silences they shared were to stay with Lili forever, for he couldn't forget the sense of love in that silence; brave and legendary, passionate in its wake.

And so when he had to leave, Lili made a promise to create this vision and make it true, so they could share more of the melodies and silences through the same, golden thread of friendship.

But the man, as all humans, had died and so did the wondrous silences that were so full of sound and life.

Not that Lili minded for he was always around the school, always listening to the music of the students. But music is not the same as silence, but in time, Lili forgot of the silences.

But then she had come along. The first girl.

Lili had noticed her first, because she was in a roly-chair thing. At first, Lili had been puzzled, he thought humans used their chairs for sitting on, not moving around. Then he realised that this girl couldn't walk.

And so he followed her.

Her brother was always close by, always protective of her. His melody was a thing that Lili couldn't quite put his finger on… was it guilt? Guilty because he could walk and his sister couldn't? Or something else?

But the girl's melody… it sang straight from the heart, and that's what made Lili fall in love with her melody. It was simple, and it was kind, it was so terribly vulnerable and enchanting at the same time.

It also sang of sorrow, a child's sorrow, of not being able to do anything special.

That's when he decided to use his magic for something better. To make a child happy.

And so he gave her the first magic violin.

And so the cycle started.

Lili wondered, at her funeral, about the silences they had shared. They were like autumn leaves flickering in the wind, something precious, something full of hope and devotion and the drive to do well, breathtaking in its short brilliance before she picked her violin up again, and started to practice.

Maybe it was that was what had killed her, Lili thought, maybe it was me that killed her. Maybe I shouldn't have given her the magic violin.

But he knows in his heart of hearts, that she was happy to have music in her life while she could.

And so were the others too. Countless others, each as different as the turning tides and yet chipped from the same block – music.

Some of them pursued music out of their own accord afterwards, some of them didn't. When the time came though, they all said thank you to the little fae who had granted them such a beautiful gift and Lili knew from their tears and their smiles that nothing they had ever said had been more heartfelt.

But then there had been one. This one was different. She was beyond special. It wasn't that she loved music (because the others had as well) but it was because quite a lot of other people loved her for it. Even her silences when nothing is happening around her, he knows that at least one of the seven is sending a million thoughts of her into the sky.

They all loved her in different ways. Some loved her as a fellow musician, some as a friend, others as the girl whose smell they were addicted to, one boy loved her even though he would never admit it and then one curious lad who had openly confessed she was the girl of his dreams; but they all shared one thing; they all loved her for the way she inspired them to love music.

And Lili loved her too. Her silences were greetings – constantly surprises and new discoveries. They were the rise of the sunset on a beach, with its rays just skimming the water and falling inside the waves like being caught in a net. They were always different and exciting, always fresh.

And, Lili realised, that silences were not really silences, just songs serenaded to a forgotten listener.

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Eh, voila! There we have it - please try to review/do something so I know you've read it.

Thank you for all the support I've gotten so far - I really could not be more grateful to you. Thank you for being so wonderful and loving and I hope that my little writings can make you happy as reading your reviews do.

Love from me and all the Corda boys,

Roselynn xx


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